Mahmudunnabi Chowdhury (; 7 January 1908 – 6 August 1995) was a Bangladeshi politician, businessman and former minister. He was one of the founders of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce. Chowdhury contested as a

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

candidate for the Double Mooring-

Sitakunda Sitakunda or Sitakunda Town () is an administrative centre and the sole municipality (''Paurashava'') of Sitakunda Upazila in Chattogram District, located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. Sitakunda is famous for the Chandranath Temple and Hin ...

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born on 7 January 1908 to a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

family of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Chowdhuries in the Nazir Bari of North Kattali, Pahartali in the

Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...

of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. He was the son of Khadem Ali Chowdhury and Begum Alfunnesa. Chowdhury completed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

from the Government Muslim High School in 1930. He passed his ISC from

Chittagong College Chittagong College is a public educational institution in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is a higher secondary school and also a degree awarding college of National University, Bangladesh. It is the second higher secondary school in the region that ...

in 1932, and received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from the same college in 1934.

Career

Chowdhury began his career in the metrological department in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in 1934. In 1936, he was employed as an accountant with the Maulana Company in Calcutta. He founded a clothing business named Chouwdhury and Brothers in 1937, located at Lower Chitpur Road, Calcutta. After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, he returned to

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

where he founded a business in the Khatunganj neighbourhood in 1948. In 1951, he opened a business named Nahi and Sons in Dewanhat, Chittagong.

Political career

In 1949, Chowdhury was elected as the commissioner of Chittagong Municipality. Under the leadership of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq, he joined the

Krishak Sramik Party The Krishak Sramik Party (, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and East Pakistan provinces. It was founded in 1929 as th ...

in 1953. He contested as a

candidate for the Double Mooring-

constituency at the 1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election. After being elected as a member, he served as the Minister for Mass Communication, and then as the Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation. During his tenure, the construction of dam projects in the coastal areas and the introduction of test relief and the establishment of the Film Development Corporation were established. He opposed the 1958 Pakistani military coup which installed President

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

. He was elected president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industries in 1962. When the National Democratic Front was formed, he served as the provincial vice president and president of the Chittagong district branch in 1962. He was the President of the

Pakistan Democratic Movement The Pakistan Democratic Movement (; PDM) was a coalition of List of political parties in Pakistan, political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a political movement, opposition movement against Imran Khan, accusing his I ...

(PDM) Chittagong branch. He played an important role for the Democratic Action Committee (DAC) during the 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising. He contested for the Chittagong-? constituency within the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

as a

Pakistan Democratic Party The Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) was a political party in Pakistan, founded by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in June 1967. Nawbzada Nasrullah Khan led the party until his death in 2003. After Nawab's death, the party's leadership was later taken ...

candidate and was defeated in the 1970 Pakistani general election. He was a supporter of a politically united Pakistan. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, he was a

Pradhan Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin used in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit ''pradhāna'' translates to "major" or "prime"; however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxf ...

of the Chittagong District Peace Committee.

Personal life

He married Begum Meherunnesa Chowdhury. The president of the Chittagong City BNP politician Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury is his son. His others sons include industrialist Abdur Razzaq Mahmud Chowdhury, Chittagong Chamber president and Thailand honorary consul Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury, renowned personality Shahnawaz Mahmud Chowdhury, and the director of Meher Group Shahzada Mahmud Chowdhury.

Death

Chowdhury died of

old age Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

on 6 August 1995. Mahmudunnabi Chowdhury Foundation has been formed on behalf of the family to keep the memory alive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Mahmudunnabi 1995 deaths 1908 births Provincial ministers of East Pakistan People from Chittagong District Government Muslim High School alumni Chittagong College alumni Bangladeshi Muslims Bengali Muslims 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Muslims Krishak Sramik Party politicians Pakistan Democratic Party politicians East Pakistan MLAs 1954–1958